#181
I received the pass around razors in the mail yesterday, and had a chance to fire up the M plate last night.

First impressions, looks-wise: I was not a fan of the long, thin handle. The finish is interesting; I didn’t love it, but I didn’t dislike it, either. The machining is really nice, and after putting a blade in, I could tell by how easily and securely the handle screwed on that this was a quality razor.

Now on to the first shave. I have to remind everybody that I principally use replaceable blade AC straight razors, and use DEs for certain tasks only. I start my shaves by squaring off the sideburns with a DE, then move to the straight for the rest of the first pass. At the end of the first pass I re-lather the area around the mouth and pick up stragglers with my DE. Occasionally, especially if I am in a real hurry, I will do the entire VanDyke area with the DE on the first pass.

I then lather up again and do the second pass, all with the straight except for the chin and mustache area, which I do entirely with a DE on the second pass, XTG toward the center of my face from both sides. I then check to see how I’ve done, and I usually add a little touch-up just under the jawline bilaterally with the DE. So, those are the tasks I usually assign to my DE, just so it’s clear. I don’t do full DE shaves, and haven’t since September of 2019, except when on vacation.

So, I started my shave the way I usually do. Lather was Wickham Club Cola. I tried to square off the sideburns like I always do but the razor wasn’t cutting hair. At all. So I adjusted the angle and kept trying. After a second I realized that the razor won’t shave unless you shave at a very steep angle (handle closer to the face, more like what you do with a cartridge razor). Once I figured that out it started the shave just fine.

For the sake of evaluating the razor more, I decided to do the entire VanDyke area with the Yates, even though I wasn’t in a hurry. Again, adjusting to the angle was kind of difficult. When I got to the densest areas on the chin from the outside of my lips down to my jaw, it was getting hung up and not going through very well (I had 48 hours’ growth and my beard is gray and coarse). The blade wasn’t new, and it wasn’t my favorite blade, so to make sure it wasn’t the blade, I opened up a fresh Polsilver SI and proceeded. It still seemed to have a little bit of trouble, more than I expect from, for example, my British flat-bottom New.

It did ok with the XTG pass in the chin/mustache area, although the angle it forces one to use was still really strange to me. For example, the angle you might take right beneath the nostril to get the hairs that are close to the nostril when using a Fatboy, but then thereafter you would “scoop” to a much shallower angle? With the Yates you just keep the initial angle the whole time! It’s really crazy. The clean-up along the jawline went pretty well, as I was getting more used to the angle.

Overall, though, although the razor is well built and looks great, it just feels like it is not for me. I know it is only one shave, and way too soon to write a razor off, but I just have a feeling that I am not going to be happy with any of these razor heads. The angle is just way too different for me. I like to ride the cap. It feels like there is no angle at which I could get a DE blade to attack my stubble the way I like them to.

I will try the Hybrid plate next, then the H and EH, and then pass these along. Thanks for the opportunity. Glad I didn’t spring for one of these without trying it first. It would have ended up on the B/S/T very quickly.

AQU, Ventastic, Whisker_whacker and 2 others like this post
Love, peace, and harmony....maybe in the next world.....
#182

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Philadelphia, PA
Pass Around List:
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Tu ne cede malis, sed contra audentior ito.
#183
Checked the geometry of the M versus my British flat-bottom New last night with a blade in, gently shaving off a few hairs off my forearm with a good light behind. Doing this it was easy to see why the angle required to cut hair is so different from one to the other.

Fired up the Hybrid plate this morning. The good: Love the way the Hybrid plate looks in brass against the flat silver of the handle and the cap. Love, also, that the cap has those indentations so the head can cover the blade tabs but it is still easy to remove the blade. Nice design.

Now on to the shave. Polsilver was only on its second shave, so I new it was plenty sharp. I remembered the steep angle required by the M head; this head looked to have essentially the exact same geometry, just open comb on one side.

Used Murphy and McNeil’s Naid for lather and it was fantastic. Today’s shave was definitely better than the first shave, because I understood the razor better. Still not a fan of the angle it requires, though.

Loaded up the same blade into the H plate tonight and studied the geometry in the same way; looks like the wider gap and more blade exposure are going to allow a shallower angle. I predict I’m going to like the H plate better. I will shave tomorrow night with the H plate and then on Saturday night with the EH plate and report my findings. After that, the package will be on to the next person in the pass-around.

Again, thanks for letting me be a part of this.

AQU likes this post
Love, peace, and harmony....maybe in the next world.....
#184
OK, third shave. This time I started with the H plate, but by the second pass I went on to the EH plate.

Although I am coming around to the long thin handle (like many before me), the angle required for good stubble removal with these heads still doesn’t suit me. At least not until I loaded up the EH plate.

I’m not the kind of guy who really likes super aggressive DEs or lots of blade feel. Having said that, I didn’t think the EH head felt super aggressive and I didn’t mind the bit of blade feel it provided. For ME, the EH head shaved circles around the M, the Hybrid, and the H. I really liked it. Granted, I only used it for clean-up after the second pass. I will be shaving again tomorrow night, though, and I am going to use the EH for the entire shave. I will get back with a report after I have done so.

I can definitely say that I would not buy the M, the Hybrid, or the H plates, but the EH might tempt me a little, based on how it shaved last night. More to come.....

HOLYZEUS, Calm_Shaver, Whisker_whacker and 2 others like this post
Love, peace, and harmony....maybe in the next world.....
#185
Well, I had planned to shave yesterday evening using the EH plate as clean-up DE, but my kitten, who was sick already, took a turn for the worse and I had to take him to an ER and he ended up getting admitted to the hospital. Didn’t get home until about 1:30 a.m., so the shave had to be put off until this morning. Shave was, therefore, on 2.5 days’ growth, longer than I usually go.

I used Murphy and McNeil’s Naid soap and got a nice lather. The main razor for the shave was my Feather SS, loaded up with a Schick Proline blade. To give the Yates a little more real estate, I did the entire mustache/goatee area with the DE.

I definitely like the EH plate better than any of the other plates. There is a bit more blade feel, but the wide gap also allow me to use a slightly shallower shaving angle, which I prefer. It worked fine, but still didn’t inspire me. After two passes and the usual touch-up, I had a nice, close shave that was comfortable.

Final verdict for me? These are somewhat industrial-looking but beautifully machined razors that shave well, but require an angle that is so much different from what I am accustomed to using that I could never really warm up to them. I can see why people speak so highly of these razors, as they are impeccably made and are very reasonably priced for U.S.-made, quality stainless steel razors.

I will be packing these up for shipping out to LOOT soon. Thank you, Yates Precision Manufacturing and DFS, for allowing me to participate in this pass-around.

andrewjs18, AQU and Ventastic like this post
Love, peace, and harmony....maybe in the next world.....
#186
I have finished with the razors and have put them into the mail to the next participant, who is gwsmallwood, as LOOT told me he wasn’t interested and wanted to be removed from the list.

As I was sanitizing the razor heads with 70% rubbing alcohol, I placed them on their sides to dry. When I did that, the razor base plates were sitting side by side. I was fascinated to find that the razor base plates are all EXACTLY the same except for the thickness of the baseplate/safety bar. The M and the Hybrid have a thick baseplate/safety bar, the H is thinner, and the EH is thinner still. In this way, even though the distance between the bottom of the baseplate/safety bar and the highest point of the baseplate is exactly the same for all of them, the gap gets bigger (and probably the exposure gets larger, too) because the baseplate/safety bar itself is thinner.

I don’t think I have ever seen this particular method of changing aggression. It’s interesting.

Gwsmallwood should get the razors in 3-5 days. I will be interested to hear his thoughts.

AQU likes this post
Love, peace, and harmony....maybe in the next world.....
#187
(06-18-2021, 01:52 AM)kingfisher Wrote: I have finished with the razors and have put them into the mail to the next participant, who is gwsmallwood, as LOOT told me he wasn’t interested and wanted to be removed from the list.

As I was sanitizing the razor heads with 70% rubbing alcohol, I placed them on their sides to dry. When I did that, the razor base plates were sitting side by side. I was fascinated to find that the razor base plates are all EXACTLY the same except for the thickness of the baseplate/safety bar. The M and the Hybrid have a thick baseplate/safety bar, the H is thinner, and the EH is thinner still. In this way, even though the distance between the bottom of the baseplate/safety bar and the highest point of the baseplate is exactly the same for all of them, the gap gets bigger (and probably the exposure gets larger, too) because the baseplate/safety bar itself is thinner.

I don’t think I have ever seen this particular method of changing aggression. It’s interesting.

Gwsmallwood should get the razors in 3-5 days. I will be interested to hear his thoughts.

I think LOOT actually posted an image of WR2s doing that. I have no idea in what thread however.
Tony
#188
(06-18-2021, 01:52 AM)kingfisher Wrote: I have finished with the razors and have put them into the mail to the next participant, who is gwsmallwood, as LOOT told me he wasn’t interested and wanted to be removed from the list.

As I was sanitizing the razor heads with 70% rubbing alcohol, I placed them on their sides to dry. When I did that, the razor base plates were sitting side by side. I was fascinated to find that the razor base plates are all EXACTLY the same except for the thickness of the baseplate/safety bar. The M and the Hybrid have a thick baseplate/safety bar, the H is thinner, and the EH is thinner still. In this way, even though the distance between the bottom of the baseplate/safety bar and the highest point of the baseplate is exactly the same for all of them, the gap gets bigger (and probably the exposure gets larger, too) because the baseplate/safety bar itself is thinner.

I don’t think I have ever seen this particular method of changing aggression. It’s interesting.

Gwsmallwood should get the razors in 3-5 days. I will be interested to hear his thoughts.

That is interesting. I can't wait for my turn. I'll be going straight for the EH to start. I'll post my thoughts here as I go, but I'll post a video review on my YouTube channel as well. Thanks for letting me join in the fun.
Garrett, The Shaving Disciple - Christian, Husband, Father, Writer, YouTuber, Head Shaver
2024 Software Restraint
#189
(06-09-2021, 09:47 PM)andrewjs18 Wrote: Pass Around List:
andrewjs18 (Pennsylvania)
ALI (Connecticut)
jbreakfield (Alabama)
DinoJD (Washington)
drdeemanda (Massachusetts) *removed at user's request*
Whisker_whacker (Texas)
MaineYooper (Maine) *removed at user's request*
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keto (Missouri)
jesseix (California)
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dmshaver (Missouri)
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Einar (Wisconsin) *removed at user's request*
wyze0ne (Michigan) *removed at user's request*
Lesser (New York)
kingfisher (Virginia)
LOOT (North Carolina)
gwsmallwood (Arizona)
ewk (South Carolina)
andrewjs18 (Pennsylvania)

Hey andrewjs18, could I join this pass around? I have the 921-M that I've really grown to love, but curious about trying out the H and EH plates. Thanks!
#190
Pass Around List:
andrewjs18 (Pennsylvania)
ALI (Connecticut)
jbreakfield (Alabama)
DinoJD (Washington)
drdeemanda (Massachusetts) *removed at user's request*
Whisker_whacker (Texas)
MaineYooper (Maine) *removed at user's request*
Ketotrader (Virginia)
bobmsp (Minnesota) *removed at user's request*
gvw755 (Washington) *removed at user's request*
Captainjonny (Washington)
CzechCzar (California) *removed at user's request*
keto (Missouri)
jesseix (California)
Jimmyfn (Oklahoma) *removed at user's request*
dmshaver (Missouri)
Oasisdave (California) *removed at user's request*
Einar (Wisconsin) *removed at user's request*
wyze0ne (Michigan) *removed at user's request*
Lesser (New York)
kingfisher (Virginia)
LOOT (North Carolina) *removed at user's request*
gwsmallwood (Arizona)
ewk (South Carolina)
chocotacokid
andrewjs18 (Pennsylvania)

I added chocotacokid subject to andrewjs18 permission.  You need to add your location, though.
Garrett, The Shaving Disciple - Christian, Husband, Father, Writer, YouTuber, Head Shaver
2024 Software Restraint


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